Of Hogwarts and Winnipeggers
by Middle-Earthian
Summary: Formerly A New School, A New Life. When a new generation enters Hogwarts and finds it changed, what will happen to their outlook on life? Will they make it past first year? Strange things happen in the halls, and nothing is certain anymore. Chapter 5 up!
1. Tessa

**A/N and disclaimer:** I don't own ANYTHING Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. And I used the letter practically straight out of the book. All I own are my little characters, listed below. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?

Lawyers: Yes we are.  
Me: Shut up.

**Main Character List:**

Tessa Lear

Veronica 'Ronnie' Smith

Genelle 'Nellie' Gevers

Kyle Lupin – Remus Lupin's nephew

Miguel Garcia

* * *

Chapter 1 - Tessa 

Tessa was sleeping in. A lazy Saturday morning was passing by, and she planned to spend the whole thing in her nice, soft bed. She groaned as the light from her shutters hit her eyes, and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head in the process. Suddenly, a voice cut through her semi-consciousness like a knife. Her mother's voice.

"Tessa!"

"What?" she yelled back sleepily.

"You've got mail!"

Tessa sat bolt upright. "What?"

"I said – "

"I heard you mom! But who ever sends me letters?"

Tessa Lear was tired. At least, she had been until her mother yelled at her from the next room. Nobody ever sent letters to their little bungalow in Winnipeg, except for the billing companies, and those were all addressed to her parents. Nobody ever sent letters to little Tessa Lear, the baby of the Lear family. Heck, nobody ever sent letters to either of her siblings either. This was definitely a first.

"Tess, get your butt out here!" Her older brother, Jordan, called.

Tess was amazed. Jordan never came out of his room unless it was something momentous, like the Earth blowing up or a new video game coming out. This letter seemed to have everyone hyped up.

"Just a sec!" she called, pulling on her old blue jeans from the bottom of her closet and a crumpled up t-shirt that read, "I may not be perfect but I am CANADIAN, and that's close enough.". She then grabbed the letter opener that she used to unjam her pencil sharpener and ran out the door. Her whole family – Jordan, her mother, her father and her sister Jenessa were all standing around the kitchen table. Her mother held out a large envelope that seemed to be made of parchment. Tessa grabbed the letter as fast as she could. Fancy handwriting in green ink proclaimed: _Ms. Tessa Lear_, _The Basement, 43 Glenlawn, Winnipeg, Manitoba. _Without even thinking about the fact that they knew exactly where her bedroom was, her name, her address, and the fact that it had no return address so she couldn't find out if she knew them, Tessa carefully slit open the letter, her hand trembling as the wax seal pulled free. She pulled out the letter slowly, her whole family peering over her shoulder as she did so, and upon unfolding it, found that it was written in the same ink as on the outside.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WICHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Lear_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours Sincerely, _

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Tessa felt as though her eyes must be bulging out of her head. Was this some sort of prank? Why would someone send her a letter like this? She only knew one person with the answer to that question.

She had to find Kyle.

Kyle was her best friend. He lived next door, but was almost never home. If he wasn't out visiting his 'Uncle Remus' in England, he was out and about somewhere in the city of Winnipeg, trying out something new. He stood out in a crowd, with his jet-black hair, bright blue eyes and luminous smile, but mainly because of his clothing choices. He wore either all black or all white – never anything colorful. His strangeness had attracted her at first, but his sunny personality had kept their friendship going from the time they had met when they were five. Kyle always bragged about his uncle Remus, but nobody took him seriously.

The reason: He said that his uncle was a werewolf… and a wizard to boot.

* * *

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of my first chapter of my first fanfic! I know it's like, mega-short, but it's my first try. You'll get to meet Kyle and the others in the next chapter and chapter 3. 

Reviews make me write faster!


	2. Kyle

**A/N:** Thank-you to my two reviewers! I love getting praise!

ThreatenedWriter: Thank you so much! You're praise keeps me going.

LuckyThirteen: Yay! I'm glad you agree! It seems I really do write faster with more reviews!

**Disclaimer:** The only stuff I own is the things I created. Not Harry Potter or anything from the mind of JK Rowling.

Lawyer: Must…find…way…to…sue!

Me: I thought I got rid of all of you last chapter! Incendio! Lawyer burns up

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Kyle**

Tessa burst out the door of her house, the strange letter clutched tightly in her hand. She ran towards the next-door house… and crashed right into Kyle!

"Kyle! There you are!" She exclaimed. She got up, and watched as Kyle did the same, flicking dirt from his white outfit – a pair of white pleather pants and a white t-shirt that looked suspiciously like one of his father's undershirts. The white sunglasses and knee-high boots completed the ensemble. A grass stain had appeared on the left shoulder of his shirt, but Kyle didn't seem to mind.

At the exact same time they started talking non-stop, tumbling over each others' words in their excitement. Tessa stopped short when she noticed something clutched in her best friend's hand.

"You got one too!" She shouted with glee, recognizing the green ink. "So it can't be a practical joke if we both got it!"

"What are you babbling about Tessa?" said Kyle, flushed with excitement. "You mean this letter? Yeah, I got it too. Uncle Remus sent me a letter just a couple days ago, telling me that I would be getting this letter. He said that he went to this school when he was our age. Wonder what it's going to be like…" Kyle suddenly got a dreamy look in his eyes. "I've always wanted to do magic…real magic mind you, not sleight-of-hand tricks or whatnot…"

"What are _you_ babbling about? Magic? Real magic? You mean this… this letter isn't fake?" Tessa said, incredulously.

"Shh! We can't let all the muggles hear!" Said Kyle. He grabbed Tessa by the arm and practically dragger inside his house, and up to his room.

Tessa had always loved Kyle's room. The walls were done all in red and gold and decorated with pictures of lions and mythical beasts. Sometimes, she could have sworn that the pictures moved! Piles of books, clothing and general paraphernalia cluttered the floor, and his bed was all black – the only colourless thing in the place. Kyle always whispered to the door before entering, and Tessa thought it wonderfully mysterious. Kyle sat down on his bed, and Tessa followed suit, flopping down into the soft covers.

"Tess," Kyle said. "I'm gonna show you something, and you have to promise you won't try it until after we've gotten to school."

"Hm?" Tessa said, half asleep in the folds of the bed. Kyle moved whatever the thing was so that it bumped hard against her head. Tessa pulled it out. She gasped. It was a book, but that wasn't what had surprised her. It was entitled: _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander_. She flipped through the pages. Entries on such creatures as centaurs, acromantulas and billywigs jumped out at her. "H-how did you get this?" She asked.

"I got it from my mom," he said. "It was a birthday present. It's on the list of school supplies, you know." He flipped until he got to a certain page. "This is my favourite one, so far." His finger pointed to an entry entitled _Fwooper_.

Tessa read out loud, "'The Fwooper is a provider of fancy quills and also lays brightly patterned eggs. Though at first enjoyable, Fwooper song will eventually drive the listener to insanity…' this is crazy Kyle!" She shouted. "Nothing like this could ever possibly exist!"

"Are you so sure? "Said Kyle. "I could get my mom to go find a crup and bring it here, or maybe she could get one of the doxies from our attic. They're quite vicious little creatures though." He said, grinning. "I doubt you'd like getting bit by one."

"Oh shut up!" said Tessa, hitting him on the head with a black pillow from his bed. "So you're saying that magic does exist, and that we're going to a magic school?"

Kyle hit her back on the head with the same pillow she had used on him "Pretty much, yeah." Tessa, no longer disbelieving – Kyle never lied, not even when it would get him out of trouble - screeched and started a full-on pillow war.

* * *

Well, I hope you like it! Chapter 3 will be longer, promise. Plus, they get to go on the train in Chapter 3. Let's see how well they do there…

R and R people! It's been proven scientifically that reviews make me write faster!


	3. Platform 9 and 3 quarters

**A/N:** I would like to thank Thanks again to ThreatenedWriter, who has reviewed each chapter so far, even if tere are only two! You rule!

**Disclaimer:** I only own what I own. Simple as that. I don't own anything that JK Rowling created. Oh, and I don't own Winnipeg MB, the Government of Canada does. And guess what? NO MORE LAWYERS!

Lawyers: There will always be more lawyers!

Me: ARRRGH! I will run you all through with sharp pointy things! maniacal laugh

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Platform 9 ¾ **

"Kyle?" Tessa yelled over the noise of the Grand Central Station, still finding it hard to believe that Kyle's Uncle Remus had forked over the cash to get them from Canada to London. "Where the heck is this…" she consulted her letter, "Platform 9 ¾ where we're supposed to get on the train?"

"Tessa…" Kyle started, but she just groaned.

"I know, I know, don't mention anything magic around… what was it? Oh yeah, muggles." She stomped over to the dividing barrier between platforms 9 and 10, dragging her heavy suitcase behind her.

----Flashback to the last week----

"_Mr. Lupin, where are we going?" Tessa said, tugging at the sleeve of the tattered old jacket her friend's uncle was wearing. _

"_To get your school supplies, where else?" his English accent sounded pleasantly in her ears. He sighed theatrically, and Tessa could tell that he was only kidding. She had only met Kyle's uncle the day before and could already tell that she liked him immensely. Kyle hadn't been kidding when he said how great his uncle was!_

"_I know that, but I mean, where are we going to get the supplies? There wouldn't be any magical shops here in downtown London!" _

"_True," said Kyle unexpectedly from his spot on the other side of his uncle. "We're going to a special place called Diagon Alley. You'll love it there! Mom told me all about it. We'll get our wands, and our books, and maybe even a broomstick or a pet!"_

"_But how will we afford all that?" Tessa asked. "I don't have half enough English money to pay for that. All dad gave me was fifty pounds!" _

_Kyle and his uncle laughed. "We're going to use wizarding money for that." said Mr. Lupin. "And don't worry; Kyle's parents have a small fortune in the bank. They gave their permission that you could buy your school supplies and one other thing with it."_

_Tessa didn't have time to respond, because Mr. Lupin was already dragging them into a small grubby-looking pub. He brought them to the back room quickly, but Tessa couldn't help noticing that a lot of the people were looking at Kyle's uncle strangely. Mr Lupin was prodding parts of the brick wall in front of him with what looked like a black rod – probably his wand – and so Tessa poked Kyle in the shoulder to get his attention. _

"_Kyle, why are all those people looking at you uncle funny? You'd think they were scared of him!"_

"_Well of course they are!' said Kyle matter-of-factly. "Didn't I tell you he's a werewolf?"_

_Tessa remembered suddenly, and shivered slightly, though the room was quite warm. "Sorry, I'd forgotten that bit."_

_Kyle, seeing Tessa's expression, looked like he was going to hit her. "He wouldn't hurt you! He wouldn't hurt anyone, you hear me!" His voice got higher pitched and louder, and a few people turned to look at him. There was absolute silence in the rest of the pub, except for the faint 'tap tap' of Mr. Lupin's wand on the brick wall behind them._

"_Kyle, I didn't mean – " but Kyle was not to be put off._

"_Every time someone meets him, they get all freaked out and scared! I hate that! He's a great guy! Anybody who doesn't like him can't be my friend!" Kyle looked over at her, tears in his eyes. His uncle seemingly, hadn't noticed a thing, and all the people back in the pub had resumed their chatter. _

_Kyle's eyes weren't the only ones filed with tears. Tessa was crying a bit too, though she tried to hide it. "I'm not scared of him!" She whispered fiercely. "I just… forgot about that part. I know that your uncle wouldn't hurt me Kyle, okay? He's a great guy. I'm sorry okay?" _

"'_Kay," said Kyle, and Tessa caught the gratitude in his voice. I'm sorry, I-"_

"_Come on guys!" Came Mr. Lupin's voice. "We're going to enter Diagon Alley now." _

----In the very last shop----

"_Well, It's time for you to get the one extra thing you're allowed, Tessa," Mr. Lupin – or Uncle Remus as she had begun to call him. _

"_Hm? Oh, yeah. I think I know what I'm getting. Can I have the money left over please?" Tessa was still having a small problem with figuring out wizard money. "let me see if I've got all this. Knuts are worth the least, then it's sickles, and then it's galleons?"_

"_Correct. Now, what was it you wanted to get?" _

"_Well," she said, blushing a little, "I was hoping I could get an owl…if it's not too much trouble for you Uncle Remus …"_

"_Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Kyle, would you like to go and get an owl as well?"_

"_Yes please!" Kyle yelled. "Oops, sorry." He said, as he realized how loud he had been. _

_The two friends wandered over to Oscar's Owls, a new-looking store. Inside it was dark, and it smelled damp. "Let's go and look at the owls, come on Tess!" Kyle cried._

"_Sh, you don't want to scare the owls!" Tessa admonished playfully, punching him gently on the arm._

"_Ouch, that hurt!"_

"_Shut up, you sissy."_

_Two hours and several glares from the store owner later, Tessa and Kyle emerged from Oscar's Owls, each carrying a shiny cage and a brand-new owl. _

"_I know exactly what I'm calling mine. I'm calling her Moonface." Said Tessa, stroking her new barn owl's head with her fingers through the bars of the cage. The bird nipped playfully at her fingers._

"_Mine will be Arrow. That's because he'll fly straight and true to deliver my mail!" Kyle and Tessa laughed together, and went to meet Uncle Remus. _

"_Well," he said, smiling at them, "I think you both made wonderful choices. You'll be taking the train to Hogwarts on Wednesday, so I hope you are ready."_

----End Flashback----

Whew, this luggage is heavy – Hey!" exclaimed Tessa. She had been about to lean against the barrier, but instead of touching cold stone she found herself sitting hard on her butt.

"Kyle?" she said once she had gotten up, dusted herself off and stuck her head back through the barrier, "I think I found the platform."

* * *

Thanks again to my loyal readers/reviewers, and I want you all to R&R!  
If you don't review, I will consider you a lawyer! 


	4. The Sorting

**A/N:** Hello again! Okay, I lied in Chapter 2 – they don't get on the train until now. So what? Well, I'd like to thank Damantaray and ThreatenedWriter (again)! You guys make up 6 of my 7 reviews! Yay!

**Disclaimer:** I. Don't. Own. Anything. Except my characters, whom I will hug now. And I don't evenown all of them; some of them are real people. But whatever. Now the lawyers can't sue me!

Lawyers: Yes we can! We will always find a way to sue you.

Me: No you won't! I will modify your memories and make you think that you are leprechauns. Hehehe. Now, let's get to reading Chapter 4.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – The Sorting**

Kyle stepped through the barrier, so bewildered that he didn't even chide Tessa for doing something that could attract unwanted attention from the muggles outside. He and Tessa were not the only ones looking bewildered. Several people who looked to be about their age (A/N: Did I tell you that they're 11? I thought it was a given… anyways, back to the story) were looking around with expressions of what could have been fear, awe, bewilderment or a mixture of the three emotions etched clearly on their faces. One boy in particular, a small, skinny boy with mouse-brown hair and wide brown eyes looked like he was going to faint.

The two friends were jerked sharply from their reverie by a loud piercing whistle from down the track. A bright red engine plowed its way forward, screeching to a halt at the platform. At the very front, the words _Hogwarts Express_ glared out at them.

"All aboard!" A wave of students – short, tall, thin, fat, brown-haired, black-haired, red-haired and many more – seethed towards the train. As the crowd swept Tessa and Kyle forward, each clutching tightly to the other's hand, Tessa could remember wondering how so many people could fit onto a single train.

Hard-pressed to find an empty compartment to squeeze into, they found one where only three people were sitting (A/N: In my world, the compartments fit six people each. Meh.).

"D'you mind if we –" Kyle began, but a shortish girl with very curly brown hair stopped him.

"Sure, you can sit on down with us. Just don't take up all the space!" She said, grinning broadly.

Once everyone was comfortably seated, Tessa was able to get a better look at the people in their compartment. On one side of her sat Kyle, and on the other sat a boy who looked Mexican with his well-tanned skin, brown eyes and long dark hair, which looked as though he had tried and failed to cut it himself with a pair of blunt scissors.

The girl who had first ushered them in sat directly across from the Mexican boy. She looked as though she laughed a lot, and there was a mischievous glint in her hazel eyes. She looked like the kind of girl who got into trouble for the fun of it.

The last girl sat beside the first, her long blonde hair perfectly straight and seemingly caught in the compartment door. Tessa guessed that she was fairly independent, since she wasn't asking for help. Her blue eyes shone with mirth, even though she had her hair stuck in the door.

"Well," said the brown-haired girl, "I think that since we're all here, we should introduce ourselves. I'll go first. My name's Genelle – you can call me Nellie – and I live in Winnipeg… or I did before I came here."

"My name's Veronica, but you guys can call me Ronnie. By the way, could someone give me a hand here?" She gestured to the door. She had obviously given up getting it out herself. Kyle obliged by opening the door, and Veronica shook her head luxuriously. "Thanks, that much better. Come to think of it, I'm from Winnipeg too!"

The Mexican boy beside Tessa went next. "My name is Miguel. I was living in Mexico until last year, when we immigrated to Canada." He grinned, showing his pearly white teeth that stood out against his dark skin. "We moved to Winnipeg."

"My name's Tessa." Said Tessa. "I'm from… you guessed it, Winnipeg! Wow, what are the odds of having a compartment full of Winnipeggers?" Everybody had a good laugh at that.

"I'm Kyle," said Kyle. "I'm from… wow. Winnipeg. Kind of strange that we all live in the same city, but I've never seen you" he pointed at Nellie, "You," he pointed at Ronnie, "Or you," he pointed at Miguel, "at any point in my life before. Weird. But, One thing I know for sure is that I'm _so_ getting into Gryffindor!"

Tessa looked blank. "Kyle, what's that?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know much about this yet." Kyle said, as though he had totally forgotten up until that point that I had never until about two weeks earlier known anything whatsoever about the wizarding world.

"What?" exclaimed Genelle. "You're saying that you're on the train to Hogwarts, and you don't even know what the sorting is?"

If such a thing was possible, Tessa looked even blanker (A/N: Blanker, more blank… so confusing!).

"Here, I'll explain." Offered Ronnie. "At Hogwarts School there are four houses. They're called Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Gryffindor's for brave people, Ravenclaw's for smart people, Hufflepuff's for people who can work hard and Slytherin's for people who are… cunning." She ended lamely, and Tessa guessed that she was holding something back.

"You mean Slytherin's for evil people!" Nellie butted in.

Ronnie shook her head in amazement. "It always astonishes me how you can be such a nice person, but be so out of touch with other peoples' feelings."

The indignant look of Nellie's face spoke volumes.

Meanwhile, Tessa felt unconsciousness slipping further and further away with every movement of the train. The dark waves of sleep pulled her mind, already weakened by awe and TMI (A/N: Too Much Information), into their grasp…

Flight, wonderful flight. Flying above the treetops that spread every which way below her. She was looking for something, it called to her. She was so close…

"Tessa! Tessa, wake up! We're almost there." A voice she knew… Kyle! Kyle's voice cut into her half-consciousness like a knife.

"I almost had it…" Tessa mumbled, angry with Kyle. How dare he stop from achieving… what? What was it she needed so desperately? She racked her brain, but the dream was gone, dissipated like mist in the sun…

"Tessa? Get your robes on, we're practically there!" Nellie's voice this time. "Don't worry, the guys won't look while you change."

"Hm?" Tessa sat up slowly, yawning. "Sorry, must have dozed off…" She moved her hand, which she had been using as a pillow, from behind her head and yelped in pain. "Ow! I guess my hand fell asleep too… no worries," she said when the boys turned their backs to her. "I have my robes under my clothes." She pulled off her t-shirt and jeans, revealing long, black robes. Rain pattered against, the windows, making it impossible to see out of them.

The train lurched to a stop. It shook as something huge came on. "Firs' years! Firs' years, come wi' me."

Tessa, Kyle, Ronnie, Miguel and Nellie grabbed their stuff and clambered out of their compartment. A huge man with shaggy hair and a great big beard stood, waving cheerily, at the front of the train. Slack-jawed in wonder, the students didn't start moving until the big man turned around and gestured for them to follow.

"Oh, leave yer bags on the train, there's good kids. They'll 'ave yer bags in yer dorms once ye get there." The cluster of first-years followed the huge man to the edge of a sinister looking lake. "Oh, by the way, m'name's Hagrid. C'mon, everybody, four to a boat."

Tessa, Kyle, Nellie and Ronnie clambered into the nearest boat, while Miguel went off with three kids who didn't have a fourth person. The boats seemed to move by magic (A/N: Because they did), and the awe-filled students arrived at the castle within minutes. After a couple of minutes of having a fairly scary old lady tell them to be well-behaved and explain the four Houses, the first-years were ushered into the Great Hall by a group of teachers and ghosts. The five friends had managed to find each other again, and had been seated fairly close to the front of the crowd. Behind them, four long tables – one decked out in red and gold, another in blue and brown, yet another in yellow and black and the last in green and silver.

Their attention was brought to the front of the Great Hall, where and old, battered, pointed hat sat on a three-legged stool. When the room fell silent, a rip in the brim of the hat opened like a mouth, and it began to sing.

* * *

Okay, until next time, R&R! 

Kyle: If you don't R&R we'll  
Nellie: Throw you to the giant squid!  
Me: And we'll tell him you're a lawyer.  
Ronnie: You see, the squid doesn't like lawyers very much. evil grin

Sneak Preview of Chapter 5!  
You will have to read my poor attempts at poetry! MWAHAHAHAHA!


	5. The Sorting Hat's Song

**A/N: **Thank you to all my reviewers, and to dyu123 for threatening me with a fate worse than death if I didn't update!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, as much as I would like to, and all my characters are mine. Except for two of them. They are real. Guess which ones.  
Lawyer #1: Hmmm, there must be a loophole somewhere…  
Me: hits over head with frying pan  
Lawyers 2-1,000,000,000: whacked by frying pans  
Me: I like standing on piles of dead/unconscious lawyers :D

* * *

**Chapter 5- The Sorting Hat's Song**

_Five score and seven years ago_

_Four wizards they did meet_

_Plans had they, for a wonderful school_

_Though this was no easy feat_

_A school for teaching magic spells_

_To students short and tall_

_For teaching them the magic arts_

_Aye, teach them one and all_

_Four founders each with their own house_

_Each with a plan they'd see_

_Right to the end and then, oh then_

_They decided to make me!_

_So come up here and lend your ear_

_I'll tell you where you'll be_

_Gryffindor brave or Ravenclaw smart_

_Hufflepuff sweet or Slytherin tart_

_It all depends on me!_

The creepy old lady (who they learned was Professor McGonagall), stood up and clapped along with the rest of the people in the hall. After a minute or so she pulled out a long roll of parchment and began reading out names. When the student would go up, the Sorting Hat would be silent for a length of time, and then shout out a House for the student.

"Abilock, Dorrine!" RAVENCLAW!

"Adams, John!" RAVENCLAW!

"Babble, Lauren!" HUFFLEPUFF!

"Barnes, Geoffrey!" SLYTHERIN!

"Carson, Jordan!" GRYFFINDOR!

"Dyck, Marcella!" GRYFFINDOR!

"Evans, Jack!" HUFFLEPUFF!

"Fernandez, Adam!" SLYTHERIN!

"Finch, Deborah!" RAVENCLAW!

"Garcia, Miguel!" GRYFFINDOR!

"I knew it!" cried Kyle excitedly to Tessa through the clapping.

"Gevers, Genelle!" GRYFFINDOR!

Genelle waved happily at her remaining friends, and went to sit beside Miguel.

"Haiart, Alexandre!" HUFFLEPUFF!

"Jordan, Devin!" SLYTHERIN!

"Kopp, Jeremiah!" RAVENCLAW!

"Lear, Tessa!"

Tessa's legs shook as she stood to walk towards the stool. The hat was very large, and slid over her ears to rest on her shoulders. As she stared into blackness, a voice spoke into her ear and she stifled a small scream.

"Hmm, very difficult to place you are, very difficult. Smart yes, and brave too. A cunning mind… well, do you have a preference?"

"I-if you please…sir," she said timidly, not sure how to address a hat, "C-could I be in Gryffindor?"

"Of course, dearie. Have fun with your friends in… GRYFFINDOR!"

Kyle and Ronnie cheered as she went past, and took her place at the Gryffindor table with Nellie on her right and an older boy with black hair and green eyes on her left. Before she could say anything, the Hat was calling up another person.

"Lupin, Kyle!" GRYFFINDOR!

Tessa cheered along with her friends as Kyle came up to join them. The black-haired boy moved so Kyle could sit down beside Tessa. "Just Ronnie to go and we'll all be here in Gryffindor!" he said happily.

"Mark, Jeanine!" HUFFLEPUFF!

"Narrandez, Zhandir!" RAVENCLAW!

"Ritchie, Christina!" GRYFFINDOR!

"Rusnack, Quin!" SLYTHERIN!

"Smith, Veronica!" GRYFFINDOR!

"Great! Now we're all together!" exclaimed Ronnie when she got to the Gryffindor table. "Hey, Nellie, Tessa! Maybe we'll share a dorm! Wouldn't that be awesome?"

But Tessa wasn't listening anymore. She was busy thinking. Who was the strange black-haired boy? He seemed like more of an adult than a teenager. But maybe this was how it was in the magical world – you grew up faster.

"Turner, Will!" GRYFFINDOR! (A/N: hehe, couldn't resist.)

When would that woman stop? Tessa's head hurt. Her world spun, she was falling…

_No, flying. Flying again over the treetops, her wings almost grazing the top leaves of the thick canopy. She saw the School, and again felt the pull. She was close, so close that she could almost taste it, feel it's power surge through her like new life, like her own blood. A distant beat, as though of drums… her heart! Wait… wings? Tessa felt confusion cloud the glory of flight. She didn't have wings… and now she was falling, the trees grabbed at her, she fell into…_

"Tessa! The Sorting's over! Come on, let's eat!" Kyle was shaking her, offering her some roast beef, some mashed potatoes, shovelling food onto her plate. "Come on, Tess, you'll love it!"

Tessa didn't feel hungry, but she ate a couple of bites at her friends' urgings, and even tried some pumpkin juice, finding that she loved it.

* * *

After the dessert, she found herself being jostled along down the hallway, towards a painting of a portly sleeping lady. When she woke up and stretched, Tessa gave a shout of surprise that made the other students laugh. 

"A muggle-born, hm?" came a friendly voice on her right. She turned to face the black-haired boy she had noticed at supper, and his hand was extended to her in greeting.

"Yeah…" said Tessa, taking his hand shyly.

"The name's Harry. Harry Potter. An American, from your accent, then?" asked the boy.

"Canadian." Tessa responded automatically.

"Ah. The great white north?" said the boy

"Yes, it's pretty great, and North from here, but it's only white in winter… i.e. about six months of the year."

The boy laughed, and then waved. "See you around then, Tessa."

"See you, Harry!" she called back, and watched as he went over to his two friends – a red-haired, freckled boy and a girl with a mass of bushy brown hair. 'Even wilder than Nellie's!' she remembered thinking, but then she was pushed up to the portrait, right beside Kyle.

"Tess! There you are, I've been looking all over. The password's _Grindylow_, okay? Remember that, so you can get inside. You okay?" he asked, looking at his friend with concern.

"No, I'm fine. Just tired, is all."

"Well, you get some sleep. The girls' dorm is just over there."

Following Kyle's directions, she found that she was indeed in the same room as her friends. Her luggage was on a bed, and Moonface in her cage was balanced precariously on top. Laughing at the almost indignant expression on her owl's face, Tessa pulled down the cage, opened the door and let Moonface sit on her lap.

"You'd better let her go out and hunt," said Ronnie, looking up. "She's get pretty hungry otherwise."

"Won't she escape?" asked Tessa, a little fearful

"No, they're trained not to. Your owl is beautiful, by the way. What's her name?"

"Her name's Moonface." Said Tessa, stroking her owl, who hooted contentedly. Tessa walked over to the window and opened it, and Moonface soared out.

"She'll be back by morning." Said Nellie, in the way of comfort. "So, seen any cute guys yet?"

"Well, I did get to talk to this one guy, who was really nice. I think he was about 16 or 17, and he black hair and green eyes. He was really sweet."

Nellie and Ronnie exchanged significant glances. "Did you happen to get his name?" asked Ronnie curiously.

"Yeah… his name's Harry. Harry Potter." Said Tessa, wondering what the problem was.

"Harry Potter?" squealed Nellie. "Tessa, you just made friends with the most famous guy in the wizarding world!"  
Confused, Tessa asked the first question that came to mind. "What?"

Ronnie looked at Nellie as if to say, 'she isn't from a wizarding family! How do you expect her to know this kind of stuff?' and launched into an explanation. "Well, a while back, maybe fifteen years, there was this guy called…" she gulped, "Voldemort." She and Nellie shuddered at the name, and Tessa just stared blankly. The room seemed to have gone cold. After a minute or two, Ronnie continued. "He was the darkest of dark wizards, Tessa, he scared everybody. He killed a lot of people. One night, he went to kill the Potters – Harry's family. He killed everyone – except Harry, that is. He tried to kill him, but the spell backfired and You-Know-Who hasn't been seen since. That's why he's famous: because nobody's ever fought Him and lived. What's more," Ronnie lowered her voice to a whisper, and Tessa had to strain to hear, "He's fought You-Know-Who at least three times since then. And won too! He's so cool." Sighed Ronnie happily.

"Aww, will you shut up? I'm trying to sleep here!" grumbled Genelle, and Tessa laughed. As she curled up under the covers of her bed and closed the curtains, she sensed that she would have a great year.


End file.
